One of the four men accused of the murder of a Limerick nightclub doorman has been found not guilty at the Central Criminal Court sitting at Cloverhill.
Mr Justice Peter Charleton directed the jury of 12 men to acquit John Dundon (27), Ballinacurra Weston, Co Limerick, of murdering Brian Fitzgerald on November 29th, 2002, at Brookhaven Walk, Mill Road, Corbally, Limerick.
Mr Justice Charleton said he had come to his decision after a statement made by chief prosecution witness James Cahill, who is serving a life sentence for shooting Mr Fitzgerald, that: "I'm getting, like, voices and I don't want to convict someone in the wrong."
Mr Cahill went on to say that he did not remember Mr Dundon being present when Mr Fitzgerald was pointed out at his place of work or a visit to the victim's house before the murder.
He also said that while Mr Dundon was in a house where the murder was being discussed, he was not present for the conversation itself.
Mr Justice Charleton went on to tell the jurors there was no case against Mr Dundon and he was requiring them to acquit him. He warned them that this move did not affect the trials of the other three defendants when they came to deliberate their cases.
Gary Campion (24), Pineview Gardens, Moyross, Limerick, Mr Dundon's brother Desmond (23) also from Ballinacurra Weston, Co Limerick, and Anthony Kelly (50), Kilrush, Co Clare, all remain on trial.
The jury also heard from Michael Flynn, a consultant engineer, who told Michael O'Higgins SC, defending Mr Kelly, of the time it would take to travel certain routes mentioned during the trial.
He said that the journey from the Heath in Portlaoise, where Cahill said he had met two men to plan the murder and arranged to pick up a gun and ammunition from Mr Kelly, to Mr Kelly's house would take just over three hours.
A journey starting at 3.45pm from the Heath as suggested by both CCTV footage and phone records from the day of the meeting, would arrive at Mr Kelly's house at 7pm.
A trip taken at the same time as an alternative account of the journey to Kilrush also given by Cahill would have taken one hour and 24 minutes each way.
However, Mr Flynn agreed with Seán Gillane, prosecuting, that he had undertaken all journeys at the statutory speed limit and journey times would be affected if this was not observed.